


"Of Course, Ned"

by someoneyoucantstand



Series: The Firsts [2]
Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Coming Out, Gen, M/M, Pre - Slash, friends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-16 07:04:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11823639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/someoneyoucantstand/pseuds/someoneyoucantstand
Summary: Ned's so scared that Peter won't want to be his friend anymore that he forgets Peter's literally the most understanding 13 year old out there.AKA, Ned comes out to Peter for the first time





	"Of Course, Ned"

When they were thirteen they had been paired up on and English assignment together in which they both had to choose their favourite book each, write about it, and then compare the similarities and differences.

It had been quite between the two boys in the recent weeks; Ned suddenly never really wanting to say anything and Peter never really being able to hold a conversation between the two. It worried Peter. He’d never really had a friend like Ned, and he was worried that after a year of friendship, it was going to be over between the two.

They’d been working on their project in silence for over an hour when Peter noticed in the corner of his eye how distracted Ned seemed to be. His chosen book was open and his paper held small notes scratched out in pencil, but he seemed as if he hadn’t done anything in ages, instead choosing to glance at Peter ever now and then before back to his book where he read the same line over and over before once again glancing in the direction of Peter.

He’d let it slide and continued his own report for another half hour before he eventually stopped and put his pen down, causing Ned to actually look at him.

“Why do you keep looking at me?” Peter asked, not looking up from his book.

“I’m not?” He made it sound like a question, but Peter wasn’t stupid, he knows what he’s been seeing.

Peter huffed and shifted himself around so that he was facing Ned face on. He pulled his knees up to his chest, letting his arms rest on the top of them as he looked at his friend.

He didn’t look any different in these past few weeks that he had this past year, but Peter knew something had to be up with him, something had to be wrong. He hadn’t been acting like himself at all.

“You keep glancing over it at me.” He responded.

Ned didn’t make a noise and he looked down at his crossed legs. His only movements were his fore finger and his thumb rubbing the ankle of his jeans leg together between them.  Peter let him be for a moment, fixed instead in watching the small little action, before adapting the question.

“What’s up with you?” He asked this time. “You’ve been off.”

“I haven’t.” Ned mumbled, not looking up. The rubbing stilled, with his hand instead gripping the ankle fabric tightly. “I haven’t.” He repeated.

Peter sighed and glanced behind him. He rocked backwards, one hand supporting him as he leant over and pushed his bedroom door closed completely in case Uncle Ben heard anything coming from the room. He leant his arms back onto of his knees, looking at Ned.

“What’s up?” He asked again.

In front of him, Ned’s calm faced suddenly scrunched up, his eyes promptly shutting as they began to water. Peter visibly panicked at the sight and attempted to launch into an awkward attempt at comforting him when Ned spoke up, telling Peter “you won’t like me anymore if I tell you.”

“You’re my best friend, Neddy.” Peter scooted forward and crossed his legs, mirroring Ned’s position.

“But you won’t want to be best friends anymore.” Ned cried, covering his face with his hands. Peter felt awkward as he watched him cry, not really knowing what to do.

“If I could be friends with you after that vicious game of Mario Kart, I can be friends with you after anything.” Peter joked, trying to lighten the mood in hopes that it would stop the crying.

“I tried to talk to my brother, thought maybe he could help me, but he told me I’m just some little kid,” Ned hiccupped, “said I don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“What are you talking about?” Peter was worried now. Up until this point, he the worst thing he could think of to make Ned this quite would be that he didn’t want to be friends with Peter anymore and whilst that made him feel crap, he thought it would be better than seeing his friend look so scared and hurt.

“I like boys.”

Ned said it quietly, the statement muffled by his hands that he had buried his face into. But, even so, Peter still heard him.

He stilled, looking at him, certainly not expecting that. He knew exactly what Ned was talking about. He wasn’t too young and innocent to not know. He’d seen the high school boys kissing each other on the subway. He’s asked Uncle Ben about it once, who told him not to worry, that it was perfectly fine for them to be doing that if they really liked each other.

The silence must have lasted too long for Ned’s liking for he was whipping his face and standing up, ready to pack up his backpack and go home, mumbling about how he “knew this would happen”, how he “shouldn’t have said anything.”

Peter quickly got to his feet after him and grabbed Ned’s arm, pulling him into a tight hug like the one Ned had given him when he got a C and was scared of telling Aunt May.

“I googled it and it said I was gay and I panicked because I’d heard Sam talking about that before and he said it wasn’t something to be proud of so I panicked a lot, and I asked him and he said I’m too young to understand and now I’m scared because he sounded annoyed and I don’t know what to do and- ” Ned hiccupped, cutting off his own rant as he cried, gripping Peter.

“Hey, it’s fine.” Peter tried to sooth

Ned’s face crumpled again and he buried his face in Peter’s shoulder. “Please will you still be my friend?” He asked.

Peter nodded, regardless of whether Ned could see it or not, and tightened his grip.

“Of course, Ned.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are much appreciated.   
> If you have any prompts for "Firsts" between Ned and Peter please send them to my tumblr [askbox](http://someoneyoucantstand.tumblr.com/ask) on someoneyoucantstand


End file.
